I have had several types of design wall over the years, most recently just a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth hanging on the wall. However, a few months ago I read Katie Pedersen’s instructions for her design wall, and decided I wanted THAT one! She used big sheets of foam insulation covered with a flannel sheet, so fabric sticks to the flannel and pins go into the board easily if needed.
A non-messy part of my husband’s shop is in the same space as my studio, so it made getting him to make the design wall for my birthday really easy!
The shop corner of the studio!
I e-mailed my husband Katie’s design wall tutorial, then e-mailed Katie for further help. (She washed her flannel sheet twice, drying it on hot both times.)
My husband had a few ideas to make the whole thing sturdier, so he added a thin sheet of underlayment material behind the insulating foam board. Then he added a wood frame on the back to stabilize the whole thing. This shows the back side with tape holding the foam to the underlayment, as well as the wood frame. We glued the insulating foam and underlayment together, as well.
Back side of quilt wall, showing taped seam where pieces were joined and a wood frame to reinforce the whole thing. Tape at the edges wraps around both board and foam to hold them together as well.
Then we wrapped the sheet, taped, and stapled per Katie’s instructions.
Despite all that, every project has its glitches:
We were NOT successful in putting bolts or screws through the whole thing to attach it to the wall. Finally we decided to hang it with a French cleat, which you can see here if you want to know what that is. That meant that nothing from the hanging apparatus had to go through the front, so no holes in the flannel!
And finally, here it is:
I’ve used it quite a bit already, and it works beautifully! Thanks for the idea, Katie!
Zippy Quilts 
Very nice. I have white craft felt on my wall, which works reasonably well. It would be better, though, to be able to pin directly through it into the wall. And of course the other issue is that many of my projects are LARGE, so there really isn’t enough room and/or the weight becomes to much. Then I switch back to my design floor. 🙂
Yes, I had a design floor for many years. Lots of exercise going up to the loft to look, then down to the living room to move a block, then…😃
Ah, that is terrific! Curious, was there ever a time you didn’t use a design floor/wall and just flew by imagination alone?
I can’t think of any time I haven’t used a design wall/floor. I often make it up as I go along, but I do have to see it as I go 🙂 Thanks for visiting
Wow! What an amazing project to work on together 🙂 I love it, and would love one too.
Other people have just used the foam insulation board with no cover and no backing so it is light and mobile. I don’t need to move/store mine, so we did more. Hope you get one, too 🙂